Rose Under Fire

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Rose Under Fire, by Elizabeth Wein

Last year I read Code Name Verity, and it was amazing.  Rose Under Fire is the companion novel; you don't have to have read Verity, but Maggie is in both.

Rose is an American girl and she knows how to fly planes, so she has a job ferrying planes around for repair or transport or whatever.  She is nowhere near the front lines, and although she would love to get to Europe, the chances are slim.  It's mid-1944 and the Nazis are being beaten back, though, so when France is liberated, Rose gets a chance to ferry a plane from there.  Then she disappears. 

Rose has been captured by the Germans, who assumed they had a flying spy, not a girl gofer.  But they're not about to let her go, so they send her to Ravensbrück, the women's concentration camp.  There, she tries to survive, trading bread and getting to know many different people, including the Rabbits--a group of women subjected to horrifying medical experiments.  

 Just like Code Name Verity, this is a fantastic book.  The writing is great, the characters live, and the emotions are real.  I hope Wein will be writing books for a long time.  Check out her website for some great resources on the Rabbits and other events featured in the book.

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 14, 2014 at 5:02 PM

    You know, I really liked Code Name Verity, but I've had a hard time gearing myself up to read Rose Under Fire. Code Name Verity was dark, and Rose Under Fire sounds even darker. I think I have to be in a particular headspace to read it (where I am all optimism).

    ReplyDelete
  2. JeanOctober 14, 2014 at 6:39 PM

    Hm. I don't know that it was darker. It's definitely at least as dark. I'm not sure.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kristen M.October 17, 2014 at 5:41 PM

    I still haven't read Code Name Verity. Maybe I'll get to it this winter and then I'll buy this one (not before! too many books!). :)

    ReplyDelete

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